Quick Review – X-Men ’92 #2 (Secret Wars Tie-In)

Alright, so one of the more nostalgic Secret Wars tie-ins is back for issue #2. Here we find the team under the control of the Shadow Queen in what she refers to as The Mind Field. She drags the members of the team through their worst fears, in the hopes that they will ultimately bend to her will to make the domain of Westchester a more family friendly place in the often violent and chaotic landscape of Battleworld.

Chris Sims and Chad Bowers split the writing again in this issue and they both do quite well. The opening segment with Wolverine fighting all his major foes, who suddenly change into something far more sinister is done very well and is at times even emotional. It’s far better than the Wolverine story from Battleworld #3. Storm’s tale here is tense, if just slightly forgettable, but the real shining moment of the issue is the interaction between Rogue and Gambit. The romantic tension is there only briefly, but it brings back all the warm fuzzies from their glory days. Also, I think I’m starting to understand what’s going on with the strange edits and proofreading notations in this series. Even if it’s not what I think it is, it certainly adds an interesting and curious dimension to the story.

Scott Koblish handles the art here. It’s not quite perfect, but it is very good. There are some seriously mind bending segments in this issue that are done really well. I would have liked some of the character models to be a little closer to the original versions, but that’s really the only complaint that I have, and really, it’s a pretty small one.

Overall, this has been a really fun series so far. It’s definitely not the best of the tie-ins, but it’s still very enjoyable to read, and it has a solid creative team. If you’re an X-Men fan, you should be reading this one.